Silk had created a ''strip" camera — he exposed the camera's film as it rolled past a hole. The camera was portable, unlike other photo-finish cameras, and the rolling film mechanism was powered by the motor from a record player.

Image: George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

I was thrilled when the prints showed strength, speed, design — originality.

George Silk

Image: George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Only a trickster you say, wrapped up in a shroudOr caught by a camera with a crooked lens